What is the Common Conditions Scheme?

The Common Conditions scheme is a new facility that community pharmacies will be able to offer, starting in January 2026.

Quick Summary: Participating pharmacists can now write prescriptions for first line treatment for eight common conditions and provide the recommended treatment for a fee. Compared to a GP the scope of prescribing is limited but fees are typically lower and wait times are much shorter (you may not have to wait at all!)

Full Explainer: Over the years, GP practices have come under increasing pressure to provide services to an Irish population that is growing and living longer. Naturally this has come with an increased workload because not only has the population increased, but the proportion of that population that require GP visits more often has also increased. It then becomes harder for GPs to see everyone in a timely manner.

This has also lead to an increase in referrals to secondary care where patients have not been treated in time and so the broader health service in Ireland comes under pressure.

In this context, the "The Expert Taskforce to support the expansion of the role of pharmacy" was established in July 2023 by the Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly TD. The Expert Taskforce included 13 experts with experience in pharmacy education and practice, healthcare policy and delivery, and other related disciplines. The Taskforce was asked to consider how pharmacists can expand upon their present scope of practice for the benefit of patients, the public and the wider health system.

The Expert Taskforce's second and final report was published in August 2024. It recommends that pharmacists should be able to prescribe for a range of common conditions, starting with an initial list of eight conditions which can be extended over time as the service evolves. This has then become the new Common Conditions Scheme that we have today.

The eight common conditions are:

1. Allergic Rhinitis

2. Cold Sores

3. Conjunctivitis

4. Impetigo

5. Oral Thrush

6. Shingles

7. Uncomplicated Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs)

8. Vulvovaginal Thrush

As this is a new scheme it is hard to say for certain exactly how the scheme with be implemented in each pharmacy but it is likely that there will be a charge for the consultation. This fee would work much like a fee to see your GP. There would then be a fee for any medication provided, as with filling a prescription from another prescriber in your local pharmacy.

Where a person has a General Medical Scheme card or a Drugs Payment Scheme card, products prescibed on the Common Conditions scheme are elligible for reimbursement and you will be charged the normal amount.

We will follow up this post with a more specific post on how this will work in practice.